NEW YORK – In response to the conclusion of the New York legislative session, The Education Trust–New York issued the following statement:
“EdTrust-NY and our coalition partners championed innovative legislation during this legislative session, making significant strides to support families facing the greatest challenges in accessing child care.
The state Legislature’s dedication to reducing barriers to access child care assistance is commendable. They passed three bills that:
- Adopt presumptive eligibility, allowing counties to assume a family is eligible for a subsidy and provide care based on that assumption. They can also use federal dollars to cover the cost of care if the family is ultimately deemed ineligible.
- Decouple child care assistance from parents’ working hours.
- Eliminate the requirement that a parent must earn minimum wage to be eligible for child care assistance.
These policies move New York closer to establishing an equitable child care system.
We are also pleased that a bill requiring a comprehensive review of New York’s Early Intervention (EI) program has passed. EI provides therapies to infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities. Timely delivery of these services is critical to supporting every child’s learning potential. This bill includes a review of the formula that determines payment rates for these therapies, which has not been updated since the mid-1990s.
While we are pleased with these outcomes, it is now up to Governor Hochul to move New York forward by signing these bills into law. The Governor has twice vetoed the decoupling bill, and New York’s youngest children and their families cannot wait any longer. We urge the Governor to act quickly to ensure that decoupling and other critical changes to child care assistance and EI are available.
Despite the progress made in early childhood education, the legislature’s failure to pass legislation to ensure that literacy programs in institutions of higher education are aligned with the science of reading is disappointing. Additionally, the neglect to pass a bill to provide high-impact tutoring in literacy and math further exacerbates the repercussions of pandemic-related learning loss. Reading is a civil right, yet New York is facing a literacy crisis, particularly for students of color and those from low-income backgrounds. Teachers trained in evidence-based literacy instruction, and tutors for students who are below grade level in reading are necessary to meaningfully address this crisis.
Looking ahead to the next legislative session, The Education Trust–New York stands ready to work closely with lawmakers on these education equity priorities.”
For media inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
###
About The Education Trust–New York:
The Education Trust–New York works to eliminate the gaps in equity and opportunity that hold back too many students from reaching their full potential, especially those who are from low-income backgrounds or students of color, in order to enable all students in New York State to achieve at high levels — from early childhood through college. Learn more at EdTrustNY.org.